This was the first photo I took this year, a tree covered in moss. Again taken at Red River Nature Reserve. I just like the look of all that moss on the tree and how green and bright it is. Although it appears to look dead it is definitely alive, although sleeping at this time of year. It even looks like this in the summer as well, apart from all the dead leaves on the ground. However, this is a reserve that could do with a little work doing to it.

Even though it is suppose to be winter if you went outside right now you wouldn’t think it was winter. It’s too warm. This isn’t the temperature outside though. This is inside. For the past few days in has been around 10-12 c, which is unusual for this time of year. It should be cold and frosty, even snowing. That’s climate change for you. Even though I don’t like the cold at all I don’t think it should be like this in winter.

This is our Millie keeping watch out the window. She is always either watching the TV for any animal movement or looking out the window for anyone that might walk passed. She is always alert for something to bark at. She has just come out of surgery to remove a tumor from her behind, a 2 cm tumor as well. Luckily it turned out to be nothing to worry about. And she is back to normal, running around and chasing things. She will be around for a good few years to come now.

One Friday about a week ago I have to go to the dentist. Just an ordinary appointment. But afterwards I decided I would go to the pub close to the bus stop for a meal and a coffee. I don’t go on my own very often. It was the local Wetherspoons. I ordered my coffee and sat at a table. No menus anywhere. Just the daily deals on the table. How am I going to order a meal without a menu. Goodness knows where they put them. So I just had my coffee and left.

Yet while at another pub local to me the other day, similar problem. The menus where out. Well, most of them. After having already ordered some food from the main menu I found out that if you want completely vegan or vegetarian instead of the two choices on the main menu you have to ask for the vegan or vegetarian menu! Why on earth don’t they put the vegan menus with the other menus? Why would you have to ask for them? Seems a daft idea if you ask me. Anyone who has dietary requirements wouldn’t always know that you have to ask for that menu. Its not very obvious on the main menu that you have to ask for it. The two choices they do have on the main menu are not the best. So I always have the same thing every time I go to this pub.

My two Westies out and about once more, but this time with my partner again at Red River Nature Reserve. Caught him unawares this time. He doesn’t get to walk them that often as he’s away a lot of the time, so when weekend comes he gets a turn to take them for a walk. This was taken before the girls had been groomed. They look so much smarter now.

Millie in one of her favourite positions, snoozing on her back. But I have to be careful not to startle her and she hates that and can snap at you. It’s best to wake her gently. She is a very nervous dog.

Gracie in one of her favourite positions. Sitting in the window staring out over the world. From this window she can see the whole garden and often spy’s the little critters that intrude upon our garden, like cats and squirrels. When she spots these little critters she goes crazy and wants to go chase them off. It is just easier to let her out in the garden. If I thought she might catch them I wouldn’t let her out. They are just too quick for her.

This is where I take my two dogs for a walk. Its only a short walk from where I live but seems very isolated so usually I don’t go if its too foggy for raining, or too early in the morning. On this particular day it was foggy but had cleared up a little by the time I went out, before school starts as one of my dogs is very nervous of people and tends to bark at the kids. When I got up that morning the fog was so thick I could barely see the end of the garden shed, which is about 20 feet away from our kitchen window. By the time I had finished my breakfast and fed the dogs it had cleared up a enough for me to take them out.

In this photo, which I decided to leave in colour, shows the actual Red River, which in fact, is just a stream. The reason its called Red River is that sometimes it gets quite high when we have had lots of rain. And the reason for the ‘Red’ is that there is lots of iron in the water that has turned it a slight red colour. There was a lot of mining in the area years ago, now all gone and this used to be part of just one of the mines, I believe. There is a pond further along the path that some ducks and Moorhens use, but the pond often dries up in the summer if there hasn’t been a lot of rain.

There is quite a lot of other bird wildlife on this reserve from Robins to Blue and Great Tits, squirrels, and the odd Fox. We often hear Barn Owls as well at night. And we do get Bats in our garden during the summer.

Today we have two Fairy Cottages that I have made from two small jam jars and some polymer clay. It’s my first attempt that this craft so don’t laugh. I will get better with more practice. I decided to use glass jars so the lid can come off and the jar can then be used for storage for something or other. I have more clay left over so I will be making some more. I also do wood burning, which I might say, I am better at and would love to sell one day. If anyone wants to buy them, that is.

These are just some of the examples that I have done. I am always working on something, looking for something else to do. I have been doing this for about 3 years now and have quite a few stored away. I have tried to sell them before on Facebook but no one seems to want them. Would be interested in what you think about them. All comments are welcome.

This is a called a Cheeky Tika. A curry that I bought from a supermarket, my first vegan curry and I found it really quite nice. I have thought about making one myself but haven’t found a decent recipe for one yet. This one contains chickpeas, which I usually don’t like that much, but in this one it was alright. Another of my photo’s of the day.

These are something I made for myself. Vegan Mushroom Wellington Pasties. The original recipe stated that the recipe be made in a loaf tin and all in one piece. I decided to make pasties instead. They were very nice and each one of these were big enough to feed two. I will definitely make them again. I seem to be doing alright taking a photo a day for the whole of this year so far. I haven’t missed a day. Although I have missed the odd day here and there uploading them.

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These two photo’s were taken in a shop on about the 4th of January. Now all the Christmas stuff had been put away the shop had to fill the shelves with something. But I couldn’t believe it when I saw Easter stuff on the shelves. It was still early January and Easter was months away. So, why would they put this stuff on the shelves this early? Who is going to buy Easter bonnets and Easter crafts this far away from Easter? I sent the shop a tweet and didn’t get a reply. I wonder why? Christmas items are put on the shelves so early. It is just too commercialized these days. That’s not what its all about. I am not a religious person and no longer like Christmas or Easter. It is just a waste of money. So I don’t celebrate these holidays at all. And its not fun for the kids to see all this stuff out on the shelves so long before the event.

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These are my two Westies, Gracie and Millie. Gracie is 12 years old and almost deaf. Millie is 5. Their birthdays are close together. Gracie was born on the 11th November and Millie’s birthday is the 28 October. Millie has now taken the top dog stop and sometimes bosses Gracie about, even growling and snapping at her at times. She is a little smaller than Gracie as well.

Millie also has escaped her harness at times so we had to find one that she couldn’t escape from. So now she wears the black harness with three straps on it. When we take them for a walk at a local nature reserve, they try their best not to have their harnesses put on. Millie will even go and sit on her bed under the table. So I have to pull the bed out to grab hold of her.

Millie may be top dog in the house but Gracie is boss when we go for a walk. She knows exactly where she is going and what route to take. Sometimes Gracie doesn’t want to go for a long walk so she will take a short cut down some steps and back home. Millie will just follow.

Millie is quite a nervous dog and doesn’t like surprises. She will bark at anyone who surprises her. And she doesn’t like it when people are walking behind her. She also doesn’t like bikes and will try to chase them, barking.

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Gracie after she has just been groomed. We left it a little too long before we had them groomed this time. We usually have them groomed when we take them to the kennels but this time it wasn’t possible. So, we had to find another groomer just this once. This groomer was almost a mile away, which I had to walk them to as I don’t drive. It was a longer walk than they were used to so they had quite a good sleep when they got back home.